Art of and apparatus for liquid treatment



Oct. 4, 1938. G. MOORE ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT Fil ed Oct. 15, 1954 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 from main fieorge More,

Oct. 4, 1938. G. MOORE ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT Filed Oct. 13, 1934 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 wu Mm Qeorge More,

Oct. 4, 1938.

G. MOORE ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT Filed Oct. 15. 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 3 rvv owbo'v flearya More,

Oct. 4, 1938. G. MOORE 2,132,312

ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT Filed 001:.' 15, 1954 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 4, 1938. G. MO ORE ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT Filed Oct. 13, 1934 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 3 I44) G'eorge More,

hi W- Oct. 4, 1938. M E 2,132,312

ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT Filed Oct. 13, 1934 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 3 mam TM George Moore Oct. 4, 1938. G. MOORE ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT Fil ed Oct. 13.

1954 8 Sheets-Sheet. 8

fieorge Moore,

- quantity of regenerative Patented Oct, 4, 1938 PATENT OFFICE v ART oFnND APPARATUS FOR LIQUID' TREATMENT George Moore, Croton on Hudson, N. Y. Application October 13,1934, Serial No. 748,243

25 Claims.

In the art of treating liquid for improving its condition, such for instance as the contactingv of water with zeolites to render the water soft, it has heretofore been proposed to regenerate or restore to effectively operating condition the base-exchange material by supplying to it a agent suificiently exceeding the requirements of the base-exchange material to be sure of the restoration or regeneration at the expense of undue waste of excess quantities of the regenerative agent.

This invention relates to the art of treating liquid with a base-exchange material and the restoring or regeneration of such material, and to apparatus for facilitating the practicing of the art in an effective and economical manner.

To this end, an important object of the improved art is the delivery of a measured quantityof the regenerative agent to the zeolites or other base-exchange material to assure effective regeneration without substantial or appreciable waste of the salt or other regenerative agent; and another obje'ct is the timing of the steps of the ,art to afiford maximum eillciency in the supplying of softened water or other treated'liquid at minimumexpense.

This invention also relates to apparatus for the treatment of liquid for improving or modify ing its condition wherein the capacity of the apparatus is limited in the quantity of liquid of which it is capable of treating as a continuous operation, and it is an obiect of the present invention, when the limit of such capacity is reached, to automatically restore the apparatus for enabling continuation of the treating operation. I Illustratively applied to a specific instance, the invention is particularly applicable to apparatus for the softening of water through the use of base-exchange material, and an essential object of the present invention is the automatic regeneration of the water softening agent upon exhaustion thereof. I

Another object is the supplying of a measured quantity of regenerative agent proportioned to satisfy, without appreciably exceeding, the requirements' of the base-exchange material to effectively regenerate the same.

A further object is the effective delivery of regenerating solution by gravity when and as required, and more specifically by difference in specific gravity between such solution and water.

In greater detail, a'further object is the production of apparatus capable of periodically regenerating zeolites, or the like, at intervals less than the period of exhaustion of such zeolites whether measured by time or by the quantity of water softened, and restoration of the water softening process relation of the parts by means timed relative to such exhaustion period.

In greater detail, an object of the present invention is the supplying of soft water inexpensively, whether inlarge quantities or for domestic use, and under conditions either whollyavoiding interruption in the supply of soft water or reducing the interruption to minimum and timing it to afford least possible inconvenience for the user.

With these and other objects in view as will in part hereinafter become apparent and in part be stated, the invention comprises liquid treating apparatus and timing means therefor for treating a quantity of liquid, then restoring the treating means to condition for further operation, and then continuing the treating operation.

The invention in greater detail comprises the said apparatus wherein the treating means is a base exchange material. S

The invention also includes liquid supply and discharge devices or mains and means for controlling intake and discharge of liquid to such treating apparatus for timing the operations thereof.

The invention-still further comprises certain other novel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts as subsequently specified and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings,-

Figure l is a substantially diagrammatic showing of apparatus embodying the features of the present invention, parts being seen in section. Figure 2 is a diagram of the relative positions of valves during successive operations of the ap paratus, the letter 0 being used to indicate open, the letter 0 being, used to indicate closed, and the word normal being employed to describe that condition where the soft water or other treated liquid is flowing or free to flow for consumption by the user.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, detailed, fragmentary, vertical section through the zeolite tank of Figure 1 shown on an enlarged scale, the intermediate parts being broken away to save space, and parts being seen in elevation.

Figure 4 is a vertical section of the upper portion of the salt tank modified .by being supplied with baiiles to prevent upward difiusion of salt solution.

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on the looking downward.

Figure 6 is a view in side elevation of the timing apparatus.

Figure '7 is a front edge view thereof, parts being broken away and shown in section.

Figure 8 is a sectional elevation, largely diagrammatic, of a modified embodiment of the structure seen in Figure 1.

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure l of a somewhat modified embodiment of the apparatus.

Figure 10 is a front edge view of the parts seen in Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a vertical section taken on,the plane indicated by line I III of Figure 10, parts being seen in side elevation, and the operating levers being omitted with a showing only of their pivotal connections to the cam.

Figures 12, 13, and 14 are diagrammatic views showing the successive positions of normal, salting, and rinsing, respectively, of the tank of the structure seen in Figure 9.

Figure 15 is-a diagrammatic, vertical, substantially central section through the said tank, the intercommunicating pipes between the compartments being shown in elevation as a matter of diagrammatic'license, but they are not in fact in the plane of the section and are actually located spaced as seen in Figure l2.

Figure 16 is an enlarged; detailed, sectional elevation of one of the trunnion mountings or bearing supports of said tank.

Figures 17, 18, 19, and 20 are diagrammatic showings of the valves in the said trunnion mountings with dotted line showing in Figures 18 and 19 of the respective adjusted positions during successive operations for effecting nonregistration and registration for liquid transfer within the container, and supply and discharge of liquid to and from the container, the several valves being shown in the sequence reading from left to right of Figure 15.

Figure 21 is a fragmentary, side elevation of a modified form of a control lever arm.

Figure 22 is a cross section therethrough on the plane indicated by line 22-22 of Figure 21.

Figure 23 is a view similar to Figure 1 of a modified embodiment of the invention.

Figure 24 is a vertical section of a fragment of the container structurev of Figure 23, parts being seen on an enlarged scale, and parts being broken away for the saving of space.

Figure 25 is an enlarged, fragmentary section through a part of the apparatus showing the pressure equalizer tube control valve and connections of the structure seen in Figure 23.

Figure 26 is a similar view of the regenerative agent control valvesv and connected parts.

Figure 27 is a diagram of the relative positions of valves of the structure seen in Figures 23 to 26 inclusive.

Figure 28 is a diagrammatic showing of a modified embodiment of the timing mechanism seen in side elevation.

Figure 29 is a fragmentary end view of a portion thereof on an enlarged scale.

Figures 30 and 31 are cross sections on lines 3030 and 3I-3I of Figure 28, the parts being seen-on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, and more particularly to Figures, 1 to 7 inclusive, 6 indicates a tank for containing the base exchange material, such as zeolites, I. For convenience of description and reference, but with the understanding that other liquids may be otherwise treated for affording desirable results,

liquid, such as brine.

.lower end or bottom of tank II.

water and its treatment for being softened will be mentioned in the following description with the reservation that such mention is illustrative. A main supply or intake pipe 8 is branched to provide a branch pipe 9 leading into the upper end portion of the tank 6, and a branch I0 leading to and communicating with the upper end portion of a tank I I for theregenerating material or A control valve I is located in the branch 9 and a control valve 2 is located in the branch I0. The branch 9 is further branched at I2 to serve as a discharge pipe or drain, and the branch I2 is provided with a valve 3. A discharge pipe I3 leads from the lower portion of tank 6 for delivering the softened or otherwise treated water or liquid, and the pipe I3 may be considered the regular water service pipe for a house, hotel, or other place of use of the softened water. A pressure check valve I4 is preferably located in the pipe line I3 to prevent back flow from house and to insure against discharge. of liquid through the pipe except under pressure. The brine tank II is preferably disposed above the tank 6, and is provided with a communicating .pipe I5 leading from the lower end or bottom of tank II to the lower end portion of tank 6, and the upper end of the pipe I5 communicating with tank I I is provided with a valve seat within the tank against which rests a valve 4, when valve 4 is in its closed position. A salt tank I6 is located at an elevation above tank II, and has its lower end communicating by a pipe H with the The free end of the pipe H in tank II terminates in a valve seat with which a valve 5 cooperates. The valves 4 and 5 are preferably pivoted to and freely pendent from a rocker arm I8 with which an eccentric or cam I9 is adapted at times to engage to depress that end of the rocker arm I8 carrying the valve 5. Valve 4 is sufficiently Weighted to ov-erbalance the valve 5, and, therefore, to be seated whenever the cam I9 is raised and thereby allows the valve 5 to move from its seat. Cam I9 is carried by a rock shaft 20 extending through the wall of tank I I and provided with a crank arm 2| outside of the tank. An

operating link 22 engages the crank arm 2I to actuate the same, as will be hereinafter described. The tank I6 is provided with a screen or other foraminous plate 23 spaced from its lower end, so that the tank may contain a supply of salt or other appropriate material 24 while allowing only clear brine or other liquid containing dissolved material 24 to occupy the space within tank I6 below the screen 23. A filler tube 25 extends through the upper closed end of tank I6, and is preferably closed by a removable cap 26 threaded into the exposed upper end of the filler tube 25. A pipe 21 communicates through the closed upper end of tank I6 and extends upwardly therefrom and then down to and communicates with the upper end of the tank II. A valve 6' is located in this pipe to close this passage off during the washing operation as hereinafter described, insuring that the water will pass through tank I I, pipe I5, tank 6 and out drain I2. A pressure equalizing pipe 28 connects with the pipe 21 at. its highest portion and extends down to and communicates with the upper end of the tank 6.

The valves I, 2 and 3 are provided with. operating levers 29, 30, and 3I, respectively, and are counter-weighted at 32, 33, and 34, respectively, so that when one of the leversis depressed the respective valve will be opened or closed, and

when the lever is released the counter-weight will generating operation at the termination of a predetermined period, and such period may be determined in units of hours or other time units,

or may be determined in units of quantity of liquid treated.

The operation is capable of being carried out manually, but for precision, inexpensiveness, and

Figure l, and in greater detail in Figures 6 and '7.

An appropriate frame 35 is provided in which is journaled a cam 36 having a spur gear 31 located to at times mesh with the teeth 38 of a mutilated gear 39. Gear 39 is fixed to an actuating shaft 46, which may be driven by a time clock, not shown, or by apparatus hereinafter described with respect to Figures 10 and 11. When the time clockis used and the apparatus is employed for domestic purposes, the timing is such that the valves 2, 3, 4, 5 and6 will be operated according to the diagram of Figure 2 for salting and rinsing once in twenty-four hours, and in order to provide the requisite time for the salting and for the rinsing and proportion it properly, a mutiliated gear is used, so that the cam 36 will be stationary for a large portion of the rotation of the gear 39, say seven-eighths,

and, therefore, the cam will move comparatively rapidly during the time when it is moving and yet actually accomplish only one complete revolution in twenty-four hours. Of course, by rapidly is only meant rapidly in the compartive sense with respect to the speed it would possess if it moved constantly and achieved a complete revolu tion only once in twenty-four hours. The object of this will become apparent in a consideration of the operation of the apparatus.

The periphery of the cam 36 is engaged by a. roller 4| journaled between the arms 42 of a cross bar 43. Cross bar 43 has its ends fixed to upstanding rods 44 which are also fixed to a cross bar 45 at their upper ends. A piston-like rod 46 depends from the cross bar 45 and carries a weight 41 within a cylinder 48 which is preferably filled with oil or other liquid 49. A port 50 is formed vertically through the piston-like weight 41 to allow flow of the liquid 49 through the weight as it descends, so that the structure functions as a dash-pot and causes the cross bar 45 and its connected parts to descend gradually rather than with a sudden drop, whereby the delivery of a blow or shock incident to the dropping of the roller 44 from the periphery of the cam 36 at its widest radius to the periphery of the said cam at its narrowed radius is avoided. The arms 42 are provided with lateral flanges 5| outstanding beyond the planes of the cam 36, one in position to actuate a link or bar 52, and the other in position to actuate a link or bar 53. The former, extending to the left as seen in Figure '7, is herein identified as the leftfiange 5|, while the other is called the right flange 5|. Bar 52 at its lower end portion is pivotally connected by links 54, 54 with the free ends of the arms 29 and 3| of valves I and 3: Bar 53 at its lower end portion is pivotally connected by link 55 with the lever 36 of valve 2, and the said bars 52 and 53 are successively depressed by the dropping of the flanges 5| and their connected parts from the greatest radius of cam 36 to the smallest radius thereof. In order to divide up the movement and time-the same as required for the operation to beaccomplished, the cam 36, inward of its periphery, carries operating levers 56 and 51, each stressed by a spring 58 fixed to the cam and located and engaging the respective lever for returning the lever to the normal position seen in Figure 6 when the lever is released. Each lever 56 and 51 is pivoted at 59, and has its opposite or free end portion curved at 66 to correspond approximately with the arc of a circle whose center is the axis of the cam 36, and

. whose radius is the distance from said center to the free end of the lever when depressed. In order to impartmotion from the left flange 5| to bar 52, an outstanding arm 6| projects from the bar 52 to a position beneath lever 56, and the lever 56 is located .at one side of cam 36 in the line of said flange as the flange descends, so that the flange, when descending, will strike the lever 56 and cause it to depress the arm 6| and bar 52 and hold the bar depressed while the flange 5| is traversing the curved portion 66 of lever 56. The lever 56, however, is not depressed sufliciently to allow the roller 4| to reach the shortest radius of cam 36 with the first drop. To avoid this, the cam 36 is provided with a stop 62 in the path of the lever 56 at about midway between the greatest and the least radius of the cam 36. Thus, as the roller 4| begins to make its descent, the lever 56 depresses bar 52 a distance sufiicient to move the lever 3| of valve 3 to the opened position of the valve and lever 29 of valve to the closed position of the valve. A rod 63 extends upward from and is carried by the bar 52 and pivotally engages a bell crank or other appropriate lever 64, which has its other arm pivoted to a link 65 that engages a bell crank or other appropriate lever 66, which last-named bell crank lever is pivoted to the link 22. An extension link 65' connects to one arm of; the bell crank 66', the'other arm of which connects with the vertical rod 66a in turn connected with arm 66b of valve 6'. Thus, when the bar 52 is depressed by the movement of lever 56 down to engagement with the stop 62 and the valve is thereby closed and valve 3 opened, the crank 2| is at the same time turned to cause the cam or eccentric IE to depress the rocker arm I8 and thereby seat the valve 5 while opening the valve 4.

The movement of the cam 36 is sufliciently slow to cause the left flange to contact along the moving curvedportion 66 of lever 56 throughout a time period sufficient for accomplishing the salting or regenerating impregnation of the base exchange material 6, and the opening of valve 4 and closing of valves 5 and 6 with valves and 2 closed and valve 3 open enables this impregnation operation to occur by gravity. When the regeneration is completed, the movement of cam 36 will be such as to cause the left flange 5| to drop off of the free end of lever 56 and allow the lever to rise to the position seen in Figure 6.

arm 68 extends'laterally from bar 52 at a lower portion of the bar, and an arm 69 extends laterally from the bar 53 and is of sufficient length to overlie the arm 68, as seen in Figures 1 and 7, so that, when the roller 4| moves off lever 56 and onto lever 51, the lever 56 moves upward under the action of its spring 58 to its normal position. However, the bar 52 is held against such upward movement by the engagement of arm69 with arm 68. The arms 68 and 69 are so located that whengthe bar 53 is in its lowered position. holding the valve 2 open, the bar 52 will be held sufliciently lowered to retain valve I closed and valve 3 open. The retaining of the bar 52 in its lowered position'also retains the link 22 raised and valve 5 depressed to its seat so that valve 4 will be open and valve 5 closed. Thus, when water is entering from the main 8 through the branch l0, through tank ll, past valve 4, and through pipe l5 to the tank 6, the valve I will be closed, valve 2 open, valve 3 open, valve 4 open, and valves 5 and 6' closed. Thus, the regenerating solution is washed out of the bed! and caused to flow out through the drain l2 during the time while the right flange- 5| is contacting along the curved portion 60 of lever 51. When the right flange 5| drops from the lever 51 to the periphery of the cam 36 near its shortest radius, the lever 51 will return under the action of its spring 58 to the raised position of Figure 6, except, of course, that the cam has progressed angularly away from the line of the flange. With such return movement, the bar 53 rises under the force of the weight 33 and the bar 52 rises under the force of the weights 32 and 34, so that the parts are restored to their normal positions with the valve I open, valve 2 closed, valve 3 closed, valve 4 closed, and valves 5 and 6 open. The parts will maintain this relation throughout the next period of delivering softened water until in the operation of the timing mechanism the cam 36 has completed another revolution and the levers 56 and 51 are again depressed, as just described. It will be observed that by the use of the cam 36 a substantial weight carried by. lever 4| may be gradually lifted with the use of minimum power to afford adequate force for the required valve operations to cause the completev regenerating process, including the salting and washing operations.

The curved portion 60 of lever 58 is preferably longer than the curved portion 60 of lever 51, because the former controls the time for introduction and functioning of the regenerative agent, the brine, while the latter controls the introduction and operation of the cleansing or wash water, and the former requires a substantially greater time than the latter. For

instance, in some apparatus such as used for domestic supply, five minutes is sufficient time for the washing operations; whereas the salting or regenerating operation will ordinarily require ten minutes or longer. In this connection there is seen in Figures 21 and 22 a slightly modified embodiment of the curved portions 60 of levers 56 and 51 to enable such curved portions to be varied in their effective length, according to variation in time required for any particular in- 4 stallation or use. To that end, the curved portion 60 is made up of a rigid'connection and a movable section 60" telescopically mounted internal tongue I'll extending into the long'ltudinal groove of the section 60' which is U- shaped in cross section and mounted to extend within the space surrounded by the U-shaped body of slide 60", so that the parts 60' and 60" are secured against lateral or edgewise separation. A set screw I18 extends through one wall of section 60" into engagement with the section 60 to clamp the two together against telescopic movement during use. By the employment of such an extensible curved portion 60 on each of the levers 56 and 51, the timing may be ad- J'usted'as' found most desirable, and varied according to the requirements of the particular installation.

It will also be observed that the sequence of valve operations is fully and accurately shown. in the diagram as seen in Figure 2, from which the operation will be readily followed in the reading of the drawings.

Salt 24 is introduced into the tank l6 through the filler tube 25 by the removal of the cap 26 when and as required, and the tank I6 is maintained normally with a supply of brine sufllcient for supplying the brine tank I I when and as required. The capacity of the brine tank II is preferably made variable in any appropriate manner. One eflicient and inexpensive method of varying the said capacity is by providing quartz pebbles 10, or other appropriate non-active substancecapable of being introduced in greater or less quantities into the tank II when and as required. A filler opening in the upper end of tank II is closed by a removableplug or cap Ha. An appropriate screen or other support II is preferably provided in the tank II to support the pebbles or other displacement articles 10.

In the regeneration of the base exchange material as heretofore practiced, when applied for example to zeolites, it has been the practice to supply the required salt in the form of a-salt solution, and in order to insure complete restoration of the zeolites to best water softening condition, the gauge employed has-been the time during which the brine has been caused to flow through the zeolites. This method has proved inaccurate and wasteful. contrasted therewith, the present invention measures the actual amount of salt to be used, causes thorough penetration of the zeolites by the brine, and allows opportunity for the regeneration to occur, and then washes out the exhausted salt solution. This automatic measurement of the actual amount of salt to be used for restoration of a given bed of zeolites has proved highly satlsnormal position, that is the position delivering softened water through the pipe 13, the valve 5 will be open and valve 4 closed. Pressureat both sides of both valves 4 and 5 is equalized at all times by pipes I5 and 28, so that relative movement of the brine is accomplished by gravity, and more particularly by diiference in specific grav ity. During the time of normal operation, when flll the tank I I up to the equalization point somewhere along the pipe 21. The upper extremity of pipe El and the upper end of tank 06 will, however, contain clear water free from brine. When the timing mechanism changes the relative posi- 1 tions of the valves for the salting operation, as

shown by the diagram in Figure 2, the valves l and 2 will be closed and valve 3 open. Opening valve 3 relieves the pressure in tank ii and accordingly valve M automatically closes. Also, valves 5 and 6 will be closed and valve t opened, so that the brine in tank H can drop by difference in specific gravity to the lower part of tank 6 and work its way up through the bed i of zeolites Equalization through pipes 28 and 270 in-- sures the displacement by-difi'erence in specific gravity and resulting effective regeneration of the bed 'l'. During this time, no water flows through pipe 93, since the valve Hi does not open except under pressure, and there is no appreciable pressure in tank 6 during such regeneration operation. When the regeneration is completed and the timing mechanism makes another shift of the valves, the washing or cleansing operation begins, and, for that purpose, the timing mechanism retains valve l closed but opens valve 2 and leaves valves 3 and t open and leaves valves 5 and 6 closed. Thus the wash water entering from the main passes through the branch Ell up to the upper end of the tank ii and washes all of the remaining brine, if any, down through pipe l5 and up through the bed land out through the drain it. Still during this operation no water is discharged through pipe it because the open condition of drain i 2 relieves the tank Girom any such pressure as will open the valve. it. Durin this time of washing, the valve 5 being closed, no brine can enter the tank H from pipe ll. When the cleansing or washing operation is completed, as controlled by the timing mechanism, the valves are again shifted so that the supply of water past the valve 2 is out off and water is delivered to the tank 6 through-the branch 9. The valve 5 again being open and the tank ll being equalized in pressure but otherwise quiescent is in condition to receive brine from tanklt through pipe l1, and the brine will fill the tank M by difierence in specific gravity, whereby the water in the tank is caused to move up the pipe 217 and into the tank l6 suficiently to replace brine delivered to the tank ll.

In Figure 3 is seen in detail the preferred embodiment of the tank 6, though, of course, it is within the spirit and scope of the present invention to employ any of various forms and structures of tanks adaptable for the purpose. .An object of the pres'entinvention is to obtain highly emcient results with as inexpensive apparatus as practicable, andin carrying out that object the tank 6 instead of being porcelain lined or made of Monel metal, as is readily available where the expense is not an objection, the tank is lined with sheet rubber 12 which covers the inner surface of the cylindrical portion of the tank and is preferably fitted into circumferential grooves 13 in the top and bottom cover plates 14, the said cover plates being similarly lined .with rubber, as indicated at E5. The top and bottom cover plates are preferably clamped together against the cylindrical portion of the tank by securing rods 16, having clamping nuts 11 thereon, and, as a convenience of construction, the rods 16' are preferable extended below the lower cover plate 14 to provide supporting feet'lfl for the tank. of course, the rods 76 may be extended through any appropriate or available portions of the'cover plates it, but where the said plates are comparatively heavy, 'as, for instance, where they are made of cast metal, perforated ears 19 are preferably provided for the passage of the rods 16. The pipes i2, i3, i5, and 28 which communicate with the tank 8 are preferably provided with appropriate screens. for the filtering of the liquids passing through the respective pipes, and the said screens while capable of assuming any of various forms are preferably provided in the nature of extension tubes 80, each slitted as indicated at Bl with the slits of sufficiently thin or fine gauge for serving for screening purposes. By the use of such extension tubes 80 wire mesh screen is avoidedwith its objectionable possibility of lodgment and accumulation of substances at the place of intersection v preferably threaded into place within the tube, as

indicated at 82. Each extension tube is of sumciently less diameter than the threaded portion 83 of the respective pipes 82, i3, i5, and 28 which is threaded into and through a portion of the respective'coverplate it to allow the respective extension tube 80 to be withdrawn when the threaded section 83 is unscrewed from its engagement with the respective cover plate. 14. Each extension tube 8%, is preferably threaded into the respective threaded portion 83 so that it is readily detachable and easily cleansed and replaced.

While the pipe Z'l inextending upward from tank it insures against brine finding its way into the uppermost portion of the pipe 21 or into the pipe 28, as a further guard against any such possibility baffles may be employed in the upper portion of tank it to prevent upward movement of brine and to insure that clear water will be pres-' ent inthe upper end of the tank iii. A form of such baifles is seen in Figures 4 and 5 wherein the tank l8 has its filler tube 25- closed by the cap 26, and appropriately connected to or formed integral with the tube 25 are baffle plates M proportioned to fit snugly within the tank Hi. When the tank It is cylindrical, as seen in Figures 4 and 5, the baffles 84 will be in the form of discs with a relatively small notch 85 formed at one place in the periphery of each disc, and the foraminous support or screen 92 is arranged in tank 88 to support the salt therein and leave a brine space at the lower end of the tank communicating with the pipe 89. A rock shaft 93 having an intermediate portion formed into a crank 94 is journaled in the upper end portion of the tank 86 and has a portion extending beyond the tank and provided with a crank 95. A counterbalance weight 96 isfixed to the shaft 93 at the outer portion thereof in position for moving the shaft 93 angularly in a direction for moving the crank 94 to a non-salting position,

while the crank 95 is designed to be operated to move the crank 94 to the salting position. A link 91 is pivoted to the crank 94 and depends therefrom through the tank 88 and throughout the tube 89 to a point below the tube where it carries a valve 98, so that, when the crank 94 is raised by the oscillation of shaft 93, the valve 98 is caused to be seated against the lower end of the tube 89 and close said tube, and thus prevent delivery of brine from the tube to the area in tank 86 occupied by the zeolites. Crank 95 is engaged by a link 22 corresponding in connections to the timing operation and in functioning to the link 22 of the structure seen in Figure 1. A supply pipe 8' leads from the main and is provided with a branch l communicating with the lower end portion of tank 86 and with a branch 9' communicating with the upper end portion of tank 66. A drain pipe l2 leads from the branch 9. A valve 2' is arranged in the branch a valve I is arranged in the branch 9', and a valve 3 is arranged in the branch l2. The prime marks are here used solely to indicate that a different structure is being described, but the main numbers, eliminating the prime marks, correspond to corresponding parts in Figure 1, and the operation of these several valves I, 2, and 3 'is the same as the valves I, 2, and 3; whereas valve 98 takes the place of both valves 4 and 5. The same timing mechanism may be used for actuating the valves i, 2, and 3', and the operation will be substantially the same as that above described. Briefly, it consists, when the parts are in normal position with the valve 98 closed, valve 3' closed, valve 2 closed, and valve i open, of introducing water through branch 9 to the upper end of tank 86. The 'water filling the tank descends through the zeolites 81 and is dischargedout through the delivery pipe l3 past the pressure When the timing mechanism reaches valve M. the point for regeneration, the valve l is closed and valve 2' is left closed, valve 3 is opened,,

valve I remains closed, valve 2 is opened, valve 3' remains open, and valve 98 is closed. Then water flows from the main through branch I 6' past valve 2' to the bottom portion of tank 86 and rises through the zeolite bed; washing the brine therefrom, and discharging it out through the branch l2. As soon as this washing or cleansing operation is completed, the timing mechanism restores the valves to the position where the valve I is open, and valves-2', 3 and 98 are closed. Discharge of softened water through pipe l3 will then proceed until the time for another regenerating operation.

In Figures 9 to 20 inclusive is illustrated an embodiment of the present invention having as an essential object the employment of the water meter as the source of actuation for the timing mechanism instead of the use of a timing clock or like actuator such as is well adapted to be used with the above described apparatus. The water meter may, of course, be that employed regularly for measuring the quantity of water passing through a pipe or main at any given point, or it may be a special meter provided for the purpose of actuation of the instrumentalities hereinafter described, and will preferably be the latter form of meter wherever there is any objection to taking power from the Water meter in regular use. The use of such meter as a source of power for actuating the timing cam has the advantage of causing the regeneration operation to occur timed not according to hour periods, but according to quantity or bulk of water treated, so that the approach of exhaustion of the capacity of the zeolite bed, or bed of other base exchange material, may be used to govern the time of regeneration rather than an arbitrary selection ofa time period which may be far short of the exhaustion of the softening capacity of the base exchange material or may be so near the complete exhaustion as to allow passage of some hard water. Of course, with apparatus as above described where the timing is determined thus arbitrarily, as, for instance, with clock mechanism set to rotate the cam a complete revolution in twenty-four or fortyeight hours, the zeolite bed will be proportioned to the average use or consumption of softwater with a substantial margin of safety. Where the apparatus is used for domestic purposes and a clock mechanism actuates the timing cam, the cam is preferably set to cause regeneration at some hour, say two oclock a. in. when there is less likelihood of need fora water supply; and, since the regeneration process from its start until the cleansing is completed will usually require about half an hour, the cutting off of the house supply is not ordinarily noticed or in any sense objectionable, but if in any special case it did become objectionable, a special by-pass can be provided to allow the water to be drawn directly from the main during the period of regeneration. Such a by-pass is seen in Figure 9, as will be hereinafter described.

It will be readily understood that Where the timing cam is actuated by the water meter, provision must be made for continuing the movement of the cam after the beginning of the salting operation and until its completion by means other than the water meter, since the water meter is inactive and no water flows during the salting period, and, to that end, it is desirable to provide a supplemental motive power which might assume any of various forms, such as power stored from the water meter and released when aisaaia H through the bed of zeolites H3, space M6;

the water meter is rendered inactive by the salting operation, or as the use of electric power as shown in Figures 9 and 10.

While, of course, the timing cam actuated by the water meter may be applied readily to apparatus such as described above, itis also well both the zeolite bed and the salt, but these tanks differ in details of construction and method of operation. Tank 99 is journaled to oscillate, and when in the position which may be called normal in the sense of delivering softened water, the tank is in its upright position, as seen in Figure 12, or is free to be oscillated from that position through 135 to the substantially inverted inclined position of Figure 13, and from such inclined position is adapted to be swung back to the inclined position of Figure 14; which is 45 from the vertical. The tank 99 is provided with laterally extending trunnions Hill, one at each side of the tank and each finding bearing on a support IM. As one convenient mode of maintaining assemblage and supporting engagement, the trunnionsIM are formed with their exposed faces provided with circular depressions into which extend the laterally projecting disc-like bosses of the supports Illl. The said trunnions ltd and supports Iili not only serve to sustain the tank 99 and allow oscillations thereof, but also serve as valves, and, to that end, the support Itl at the left of the container 99, as seen in Figure 15, is provided with ports I02 and W3 with which communicate the pipes int and its, respectively. The pipe Hit is the service pipe for delivering the softened water to be used, while pipe I05 discharges to the drain. Cooperating with the ports I02 and tilt are ports Hit and ill! through the trunnion Itt at the left of the container 99, as seen in Figure 15. The other trunnion I00, that is the one at the right as seen in Figure 15, is provided with'ports I08 and I09 which cooperate with a port lit in its respective support IllI. A supply pipe MI communicates with the port ill! and leads from the watermain or other appropriate source or supply.

Within the tank 99, a partition H2 is provided which divides the tank into an upper and a lower compartment, viewing the structure in the upright position of Figure 12. The upper compartmentis supplied with zeolites M3 or other appropriate base exchange material,and screens lit, Il l are preferably arranged at the respective ends of the bed of zeolites to provide a space H5 at the upper end of the upper compartment, and a space H6 at the lower end of the upper compartment beyond the bed or zeolites I l3. I The lower compartment of tank 99 contains a bed of saltor other appropriate regenerating material Ill, and screens H8 are arranged at the upper and lower ends of said bed to provide a lower space H9 and an upper space 520 beyond the ends of the bedof salt I I1. A tube I2! leads from the space lit through the bed of salt ill,

space 52d, partition H2, and opens into the space H6. Likewise, a tube I22 leads from the space remains available.

partition H2, and opens into the space I20. These tubes i2! and I22 may be located at any desired position within the container 99, but are preferably arranged substantially at opposite points 90 around the tank from trunnions and diametrically opposite each other as seen in Figure 12. Their location in Figure 15 is merely indicated diagrammatically and is not intended to follow any definite plane of section, since if such definite plane were followed, one of the tubes would be entirely omitted and the other would be seen in dotted lines. Communicating with port IM- is a tube I23 which extends upwardly within the tank 99 and communicates with the space H5. A tube IZt communicates with-the port Hi8 and extends downward and communicates with the space M6. The reference to upward and downward assumes the normal or upright position of tank 99. A tube I communicates with the port HM and extends upward within the tank 99 and communicates with the space M5. A tube E25 communicates with port m6 and extends downward within the.

tank is and communicates with the space H6- It will be readily understood that the tank 99 may be manually oscillated, but for dependability in the operation of the parts timing mechanism is employed for actuating the tank for effecting the regenerating and cleansing or washing operations periodically as required, but the action of the device as a treatment device for liquids may be readily understood independently of any mechanism for swinging the tank and irrespective of the details of such mechanism.

When the tank 99 is in the position seen in Figures 12 and 15, it is in regular operation and water is flowing in through pipe ill, through port Mil, through port W9, and pipe E23 to the operation of liquid treatment will continue and the supply of softened water through pipe IM I Notwithstanding the presence of a body of brine in the lower compartment immediately below the space Ht, there is no danger of intermingling, since the difference in specific gravity assures maintenance of the salt within its own compartment so long as that compartment is below the level of the zeolite compartment.

When it is desired to regenerate the zeolites, it is only necessary to swing the container 99 upon its pivotal mounting from the upright position of Figure 12 through approximately 135 to the substantially inverted but inclined position several ports of trunnions liJIi will have been moved from the full line position of Figures 18 and 19 to that dotted line position indicated by the arrows and marked 135". It will be noted 65 of Figure 13. In moving thus angularly, the s ing 135, will face a blank portion of its respective cooperating part of the valve and neither will be in. register with the port 'I I0. Thus, by

swinging the tank 99 through 135 to the-position seen in Figure 13, the supply and the dis. charge communications will be entirely cut off, and the only action which can occur is internal and is not interfered with by outside communication. It will be understood, of course, that there is a body of brine in what normally is the lower compartment, but has temporarily become the upper compartment. This brine flows down the pipe I22 to the space H5, and by difference in specific gravity displaces the water in that space and works its way up through the zeolite bed II3, displacing the water therefrom. The water thus displaced is moved up through the pipe I2I to the space H9 where it contacts with the salt bed H1, andthis action continues until either the tank H9 is swung away from the inverted position or until equalization occurs with the zeolite bed saturated with brine. The timing mechanism used preferably provides for allowing suflicient time for such saturation so as to insure full regeneration of the zeolites. It will 'be noted that the displaced water in entering the salt compartment provides a body of brine for the next operation and so on throughout successive operations, the water supplied through pipe I22 to the space I20 being only the initial operation.

As the salt of bed II1 becomes exhausted, it may be replenished from time to time, and to facilitate its introduction, a tube 26a is preferably provided leading through the end of the tank 99 and through the screen I I8 and closed by a detachable, preferably screw-threaded cap When the salting operation has been completed, the tank 99 is swung pivotally back to the position seen in Figure 14, which is approximately 45 from the vertical. On reaching this position, that port I08 will come to register with the port H0 and also port I01 will come to register with port I03, so that the tube I24 receives a supply from the main line I I I, and the pipe I26 discharges into the drain pipe I05. Therefore, as long as the tank 99 remains in the inclined position of Figure 14, there will be a washing or cleansing operation consisting'of a flow of water from pipe III, through port H0, and port I08 and pipe I24 to the space H6, and

thence in a generally upward direction through the zeolites II3 to the space H5, and thence through the pipe I25 to port I01 and port I03 and out through the drain pipe I05. This reverse flowing, that is fiow in a reverse direction through the bed I I3 from the normal advance of water being softened not only removes the saline solution but removes any foreign particles collected on the upper screen I I4 and in upper portions of the zeolites as a result of filtering action from previously supplied water being softened. Thus, the zeolites II3 are not only regenerated, but are thoroughly cleansed, and this action continues until the zeolites are entirely freed from salt. Then the container 99 is swung the remaining 45 back to its upright or normal position as seen in Figure 12, and the parts are thus restored for normal operation in the delivery of softened water.

The reverse cleansing flow just described is of value in freeing the zeolites of sediment and slime, and a similar cleansing flow is used in each of the other forms'herein disclosed to wash out foreign substances.

It will be readily understood that the oscilla- I tions of the tank 99 may be accomplished by any of various forms of timing mechanism appropriately coordinated with the functioning of the tank and its cooperating parts. One preferred embodiment of such timing mechanism is seen in detail 'inFigures 9 to 11 inclusive.

A timing cam I21 similar in construction and arrangement to cam 36 is provided and'engaged by a weighted roller I28 similar to roller 4| and having the same detailed equipment as shown and described with respect to Figures 6 and 7, so that repetition is not required. However, in view of the actions required, the cam I21 is preferably provided with three levers indicated at I29, I30, and I3I, respectively, instead of being provided with the two levers 56 and 51 as seen in Figures 6 and 7. The cam I21 is carried by a shaft I32 which is supplied with ratchet wheels I33 and I34. W'heel I33 is engaged by a pawl I35 stressed into such engaging position by spring I36 carried by a crank arm I31, to the outer end of which crank arm the pawl I35 is pivoted.- Crank arm I31 is fixed to a shaft I38 extending from and driven by the water meter I39. The meter I39 may be either the regular house meter or other regular service meter, or it may be a similar,. specialmeter used solely for the supplying of power proportioned to the quantity of water utilized. It will be obvious that with the running of the meter I39 the ratchet wheel I33 will be revolved or advanced angularly (since the movement is comparatively slow), and the cam I 21 will be correspondingly moved so long as the meter I39 is in operation.

As above stated, during the operation of the tank 99 and its contained parts, there is a period of salting while the tank is in its substantially inverted position when no water is drawn from the main,'and during that period the meter I39 will be inactive. If, therefore, no other provision were made, the cam I21 would remain stationary and the tank 99 would not be restored from its salting position. To move the tank from such position, so that the flow of water through meter I39 will be reestablished, an appropriate electric motor is preferably utilized, as indicated at I40, whose circuit MI is adapted to be closed and broken by a switch I42 actuated by a lever I43 operated by fingers I44, I44, outstanding from a rod I45 which extends down past the cam I21 and is provided with a lateral finger I46 in the path of one of the flanges of the weighted part sustained by roller I28 on cam I21, whereby when the cam allows the roller I28 to drop from the greatest radius of the cam toward the shortest radius thereof, the lever I29 is repressed, say for approximately one-third the distance between said greatest radius and shortest radius. The rod I45 is thus thrust downward and as its lower end is pivotally connected to an operating lever I41 of a valve I48 in a branch I49 of the main line II I, the said valve I48 will be opened by the first step in the drop of the weighted roller I28. Lever I41 is counterbalanced by a weight I50 which closes the valve as soon as roller I28 rolls off of lever I29 and allows the same to rise to its normal, outward position.

Stops 62a similar to stop 62 are provided to limit the descent of the several levers I29, I30,

and I3I,-as seen in Figure 9.

Branch I49 communicates with the lower end of a cylinder I5I, seen diagrammatically in Figwardly for producing an up stroke of the rack I" incident to the inflcwing oi' water under pressure from the branch I49. A gear I55 meshes with the teeth of the rack I54 and is fixed to the tank 99 at the place or one of its trunnions so that, when the rack IE4 is reciprocated, the tank 99 is oscillated. The cylinder I5I is of suiiicient length to allow the piston I52 to have the requisite travel under the force of water supplied through branch I19 to impart to the rack I54 the requisite stroke to move the tank 99' through an arc of 135. As this is the maximum angular adjustment of tank 99, the gearl'55 may be mutilated'to the extent of having only sufficient teeth to give the required angular movement; The salting operation, of course, will begin just as soon as the tank 99 has been inverted by the action of piston I52 incident to the opening of the valve M8. Since the meter its ceases operation as soon as the tank 99 has been thus inverted, the electric motor mechanism above described is provided, and the downward stroke of the upper finger I44 will swing the lever M3 for closing the circuit iii. and starting the motor use. The motor is, of course, geared for the requisite timing, so that the cam iii is caused to move sumciently for causing the roller it to move across the outer end portion of lever Hid during the required time for salting, and

' when that time has been completed the roller lid drops 0d of lever I29 and onto lever ltd. Incident to this action, the valve Mil is closed by weight ltd, and the rod M5 is moved upward so that the lower finger Md moves the lever its upward and breaks the circuit till. Thus, the

.motor Mil ceases to operate when the tank 9% is brought to the cleansing or washing position where further water is drawn through the meter its. Thus when the roller I28 drops oil of lever Hill, the motor ldd ceases to actuate cam i2?! and meter tilt begins again to actuate the cam. At

the same time, the'roller iZd strikes and depresses the lever itii which in turn strikes a lateral pin tilt extending from a rod it'll which extends down and is pivoted to a lever ltd of a valve its in a branch drain pipe ltd which extends to and communicates with the cylinder i 5i above the lower end thereof and sumciently below the upper extremity of the stroke of piston let to represent a 90 movement of tank 99. A weight iti counterbalances lever tilt to cause return movement thereof and closing of the valve its as soon as'roller lit rolls off of the outer free end of lever lit.

The washing operation progresses as the meter E39 advances the cam it! until the roller 02d drops off of the free end of lever ltd. This movement is timed to aiford ample opportunity for thorough cleansing of the zeolite bed, and when the roller i218 "drops off of the free end oflever till it strikes and depresses the lever Edi, which in turn strikes a pin I62 extending laterally from a rod its which extends downward and is pivoted to a lever it l of a valve ltd in the branch drain pipe its which communicates with the lower end of the cylinder I5I. Lever I at is counterbalanced by a weight l6! which causes the valve H65 to be closed as soon as the roller I28 drops-oil of the free end of lever I3l, and the said counterbalancing weight It? also moves roller I 28 drops from lever I29.

the rod I63 back up to its position iornext operation.

It will thus be seen that when a regenerating operation is to be accomplished through the action of the timing mechanism just described,

- the opening of valve I48 causes the rack ted to swing the tank 99 to the substantially inverted position oi. Figure 13 where it remains until the When this happens, the valve I59 being opened by the action of rod Id'l allowsthe water within cylinder let to drain back through the branch drain ltd for a distance sufllcient to allow the piston it? to descend that distance representing a return movement of tank 99 through 90 or from the position seen in Figure 13v to the position seen in Figure 14. Then after the requisite time period allowed for rinsing or washing the salt out of the zeolites, the roller I28 dropping oft To facilitate and insure the return oscillation of the tank bit, a counterbalance weight ltd is carried by the lower, forward portion of the tank I @ii in position to exert a stress tending to return the tank to its upright position whenever it is free to move. A projection its is also preferably provided on tank 99' to serve as a detent and extends in the path of a stop illii located to interrupt the return movement of tank 99 when the tank reaches the vertical or upright position.

As above indicated, there may he need for water supply at a time when the service is interrupted by thesalting or the cleansing operation, and to take care of such emergency need, a bypass i'ii is preferably provided extending from the supply main iii past the tank 99 to and communicating with the house service pipe or other discharge pipe tilt. To prevent water from flowing through the by-pass iii while the tank as is in its normal or upright position, a valve iii normally closes the by-pass i ii and the valve iii is provided with a lever arm lit having a weight iil t adapted to open the valve iii whenever the valve is free to be opened. The valve, however, is provided with a second arm lit which extends upward into the path of a pin lit profleeting laterally from tank lit, so that, whenever lid is normally maintained closed by the pin H6,

but will open under the action of weight lit as soon as the tank 99 begins to move under the actuation of the rack ltd.

While the base exchange material has been diagrammatically indicated as made up of fairly large particles, it should be understood that relatively fine particles are preferred, because of the greater surface exposure for any given bulk being penetrated by water and the resulting more rapid treatment of the water, but the present invention is not to be limited to any particular size of particles or to any specific base exchange material, though zeclites are preferred in the form of relatively fine particles. The penetration of the ,zeolite bed by brine moving incident to difference in specific gravity between brine and water as sures a regular, relatively slow advance and a,

This increased speed of movement enables highlysatisfactory and fairly accurate timing of the operations desired. For example, it not infrequently occurs that a washing operation only requires five minutes, whereas. a salting operation for the same apparatus and "process will require ten 3 minutes or longer. Hence, the greater length of the portion 60 of lever 56 over the corresponding part of lever 51. Also, it should be noted that if the cam 36 makes one complete turn in twentyfour hours, that is fourteen hundred forty minutes, and the circumference travelled on the cam is say thirty-six inches, the distance travelled in five minutes would be five fourteen-hundredfortieths of thirty-six inches, which equals a total of one-eighth of an inch or-one-fortieth of an inch for each minute. This, of course, would represent a requirement of a too delicate adjustment for practical purposes, so that by advancing the cam with a step-by-step movement and having intermediate periods of non-action to make up the required twenty-four hours, or other time period, the relative movement along the surface of the cam can be considerably more rapid and afford a better opportunity for timing with satisfactory precision without such delicacy of adjustment. Thus, assuming the same time period as just above used illustratively, by the employment of the gear segment 38 with the gear 39 revolving once in three hours or eight times in twentyfour hours, the surface movement of the cam -36 will be as fast as one-fifth of an inch per minute or one inch in five minutes. Thus, opportunity is afforded for effective regulation of the timing for all practical purposes without such refinement and nicety of adjustment as is likely to get out of order or as requires excessive expense for production of precision of parts. The adjustability in the length of the respective portions 60 as shown and described with reference to Figures 21 and 22 is also valuable in facilitating the needed timingaccording to the particular apparatus and process to be carried out, including such elements as the .thickness of the bed of zeolites and the coarseness or fineness of the grains thereof.

In Figures 23 to 27 inclusive is illustrated another embodiment in which the salt container,

brine tank, and zeolite container are arranged as,

a unit instead of being separate containers as in Figure 1. Referring to the embodiment as seen in Figures 23 and 24 and related figures, 200 indi cates a compartment for containing zeolites or like base exchange material, 20l a brine compartment, and 202 a salt compartment. These compartments are connected together to form a unitary structure, and one highly satisfactory and inexpensive form of such compartments consists in the employment of a cylinder for each com-- partment with partitions 203 and 204 dividingthe compartments, an upper header plate 205 closing the upper compartment, and a bottom header plate 206 closing the lower compartment. The

enclosure plates 205, 206 are preferably l mp together as by through bolts 20'! engaged by clamping nuts 200. The lower terminal portions of the bolts 20'! are preferably enlarged to provide offset shoulders engaging the under face of the plate 206, and the enlarged lower extremities of the said bolts 20! therefore provide feet 203 on which the unit made up of the several compartments stands in use. The edges of the cylinders 200, 2M, and 202 engage the partitions 203, 204 and end plates 205, 206 in a manner to produce leak-tight joints therewith, which result may be accomplished by the use of appropriate gaskets or other sealing means. Rubber gaskets 2l0 have been found satisfactory for the purpose. In order to enable the said several cylinders to be made of metal and still not be injured by con tained solutions, I prefer to line each compartment with non-corrosive material, such as rubber 2| I.

A screen H2 is preferably fixedjn the cylinder or compartment 200 spaced above the bottom plate 206 sufliciently to leave a space 2| 3, and a similar screen 2 is fixed to the compartment or cylinder 202 spaced above the partition 203 a distance sufiicient to leave a space 2l5. A tube 2l6 extends from the upper end of the compartment 20l through partition 203 upward in compartment 202 to a point below the plate 205 and above the intended upper surface level of the salt or other regenerative agent 2|! in the compartment. A tube 2! extends from the lower end of compartment 20| through partition 204 down within compartment 200, through screen 2I2, and communicates at itslower open end with the space 2| 3. A tube 2! leads from the lower end of compartment 202 and communicating with space 2l5 thereof through partition 203 down in compartment 20l to a point above the partition 204 and preferably in line with and above the upper end of the tube 2 It. A tube 220 leads from the upper end of compartment 200 through the partition 204 and upward in compartment 20! to a point spaced below the partition 203. A valve 6a is-provided for the upper end of tube 220 and is maintained in position for closing the tube at all times except during the delivery of the regenerating agent to the zeolites MI in compartment 200, which is called the salting operation and so indicated in the diagram of. operation seen in Figure 27. A valve 5a is provided for the upper end of tube 2l8 and is positioned for maintaining the said upper end of tube 2I6 closed except during the said salting operation, as shown in the diagram of Figure 27. A valve 4a is provided in position for closing the said tube 2l9 at all times except when the apparatus is being used for discharging treated water, or in other words, is performing its normal operation. Thus the valve 4a is closed during the salting operation and'also during the cleansing or washing operation after the regenerative action of the salt.

As best seen in Figures 25 and 26, each of the valves 6a, 5a, and 4a is like the other two in construction and consists essentially of a plate bearing a sealing cushion, such as a rubber pad 222. Pivotally sustaining the plate of valve 6a is a link 223 which is pivoted to and depends from an operating arm 224, which for the greater portion of its length assumes the form of a hollow tube sustained in position to swing vertically by a flexible connection to a portion of the wall of the compartment. This flexible connection may be of various modified forms, but one acceptable connection consists of an elastic sleeve, such as a rubber sleeve 225, engaging and supporting the outer end of the tubular portion of the arm 224, the sleeve being flared outward to form a base 226 fixed to the inner surface of the wall of compartment 21. The sleeve 225 may be cemented to the tubular portion of arm 224 and to the inner surface of the wall of compartment 2!, or may be otherwise secured as preferred, but should be so connected as to prevent leakage. An opening 221 through the wall of compartment 2! is arranged in line withthe bore of the tubular portion of arm 224, and a lever rod 228 extends from the exterior of compartment 2! through the aperture 221 into and along the tubular portion of arm 224,. The outer extremity of the lever rod 22'! is pivoted at 223 to an operating link 230. Thus, when the link 230 descends the resulting rocking of the lever 228 causes the inner extremity of arm 224 to be. lifted and the valve 6a correits connection. An aperture 235 is formed in the wall of the compartment 20l in line with the bore of arm 232, and a lever rod 236 extends through said aperture into the arm to operate the same. The outer terminus of the lever rod 236 is pivoted at 231 to the operating link 238, so that, when the link is raised, the valve 5a will be seated on the uppe: end of and close the tube 2I8, and when the link 238 is moved downward the valve 4a will be raised and seated against the lower end of tube 269 for closing said tube. Each of the lever rods 228 and 236, of course, acts against the wall of compartment 20! as a fulcrum at the place of the respective opening 221 or 235.

A pipe 8a leads from the street main or other source of supply, is provided with a valve la, and communicates with the upper end of the compartment 200 above the zeolite bed 22I. A pipe l3a leads from the space 2I3 at the lower end of compartment 200 to deliver treated water for use. A pressure valve 14a is provided in the length of pipe l3a to prevent the flow of water in the pipe l3a except under pressure, so that the valve l4a seats automatically whenever the street or main pressure is relieved from within the compartment 200. A branch IO'a leads from pipe 8a outward beyond valve la to the upper end portion of compartment 2!, and a valve 2a controls the flow in the branch. Ina. A drain pipe l2a communicates with the pipe 8a at a point nearer the compartment 200 than the location of valve la, and a valve 3a controls the discharge through the drain I211. The valves la and 3a are actuated by links 54a in one direction, and are stressed to return after an impulse imparted by links 54a either by the provision of springs or weights, not shown, but corresponding to the 53 of Figure 1. A timing mechanism, including a timing cam 36a and its cooperating parts, actuate the rods 52a and 5311 as described above with respect to cam 36 and its cooperating parts. Included in the said cooperating parts of the timing mechanism are the levers 56a and 51a located and functioning in the same manner as levers 56 and 51 relative to the actuating parts of the valves 1a, 3a, and 2a. The operating rod 52a has an upward extension 53a which is pivotally connected to and rocks a rock shaft 239 having a crank arm 24') pivotally connected to the link 238. Thus, when the actuating rod 520. descends to actuate valves la and 3a, it at the same time rocks the shaft .239 to shift link 238 downward and thereby unseat the valve 511 and seat the valve 4a. Also, a link 2 is pivoted at 242 to the lever 56a at .the lower end of the link. Link 24l upstands from lever 55a. and at its upper end is pivoted to acrank carried by a rock shaft 243, which rock shaft carries a crank 244 engaging the link 230 for depressing the last-named link and thereby raising the valve 6a when the actuating rod 52a descends for the first half of its full stroke. It will be notedthat the weight which depresses lever 56a. on passing beyond said lever and engaging the lever 51a. while releasing lever 56a to rise under the pressure of its return spring does not release rod 52a for an upward movement owing to the detent afforded by the fingers 68a. and 69a, the latter overlapping the former in a manner to cause the rod 52a from having a return stroke while the link 53a is in its lowered position,

Thus, the structures seen in Figure 23 and its associated figures will operate substantially after the manner described with respect to the structure seen in Figure 1 but following the details of the sequence indicated in the chart of Figure 27.

Of course, it is understood that the salt 2Ii is first supplied to the compartment 202 and the bed of zeolites 22! is likewise supplied to the compartment 200. This may be done before the several compartments are assembled in the unitary form. Subsequent supplies of salt arepreferably introduced through an opening 245 closed by an appropriately threaded plug or other detachable cap 246. Also, the upper compartments are supplied with water to produce the required brine and a saturate solution is formed and accumulates by difference in specific gravity in the compartment 21. Meanwhile, the zeo lites 22| may be functioning. The normal or regular operation of delivering softened water merely consists of the flow of water through the pipe 8a to the upper end of compartment 200, percolation of such water through the zeolite bed 22l to the space 2l3, and thence out through pipe l3a, valve [4a being held open for such discharge by the pressure of the incoming water. Thus, during the normal operation, the parts are in the position seen in Figure 23 with valve la open, valve 2a closed, valve 3a closed, valve 4a open, and valves 5a and Ba closed, all as shown in the chart, Figure 2'7, under the heading normal". As the zeolites approach the period of approximate exhaustion and the cam 36a is completing or has just completed a revolution, the weighted part drops from the greater diameter of the cam onto the lever 56a which, in descending, imparts a thrust to the rod 5211 that closes the valve la and opens the valve 3a. As the rod 53a has not been moved, the valve 20. remains closed. The

downwardmovement of the rod 52a, however, im-- lit link 2 causes the rock shaft 243 to move link 230 downward, whereby the valve 60. is Opened, valve 5a is opened, and valve 4a is closed, all

as shown in the chart of Figure 2'? under the heading salting. The parts maintain this position during the regeneration of the base exchange material which is accomplished by the descent of the saturate solution from compartment 20l through the tube 2i8 to the space 2I3, and the percolation of the said solution up through the zeolite bed 22l. This movement of the saturate solution is occasioned by the difference in specific gravity between itself and the water contained in the space H3 in the zeolite bed and in the space above the zeolite bed, and in tube 220. As the valve 4a is closed liquid in compartment 202 can not descend into compartment 2M and the interchange, therefore, occurs between the compartment 2! and the compartment 200. It will be readily understood that with the closing of the valve la, which cuts off pressure from the compartment 200, the valve l4a will automatically close so that there is no danger of salt finding its way into the pipe l3a. When the salting operation has terminated, the weight drops from lever 56a onto lever 51a and the lever 56a returns to its normal, raised position. This'upward movement causes a reverse movement of shaft 243 and a lifting of the link 230 which results in the seating of the valve Ga on the upper end of tube 220. But the descent of lever 51a carrying with it the rod 53a causes the finger 69a to serve in cooperation with finger '68a as a detent preventing a return movement of the rod 52a so that the link 238 can not ascend to open valve 4a or close valve 5a. Whereforeon the descent of the rod 53;: under the impulse from the lever 51a the several valves will have the position indicated in the chart of Figure 2'7 under the heading washing. That is to say, valve la will remain closed, valve 2a will be opened, valve 3:; will remain open, valve 4a will remain closed, valve 5a will remain open, and valve So will be closed. While the parts are in this position water will pass from pipe 8a, through branch Ilia to the upper portion of the compartment 20!, forcing the brine ahead of it down through pipe 2lfi, up through the bed of zeolites, and out through pipe 8a to the branch Ho, and out through the branch past valve 3a to the drain. This flow continues until all of the salt solution is removed from the zeolite compartment 200 and from the compartment 2!. At the conclusion of the washing opopen, valves 2a'and 3a are closed, valve 4a is open as seen in Figure 23, and valves 5a and 6a are closed. Thus, the cycle is completed and the normal operation of disc'hargingsoftened water through pipe l3a begins again, as the water descends from pipe 8a through the bed 22-l to the pipe l3a under pressure sufficient for opening the valve i4a.

It will be observed that during the saltingf operation by a difference in specific gravity dis placement having occurred and the clear water from compartment 200 having been caused to enter compartment 2M through pipe 220, so

likewise when the valve 4:: is opened and valve 511 is closed (valve So having been closed) a further displacement by difference in specific gravity occurs and the brine that has been forming in the space 2 I 5 as well as in the bed of salt 2 ll descends through pipe 2|! to the compartment 2M and displaces the water therein causing it to move up through the tube M6 to replace the liquid (brine) leaving the compartment 202, and the thus delivered water in descending through the bed 2|! itself becomes a brine preparatory for the next operation.

It will be noted that throughout the several embodiments where arrows are employed to show travel of liquid, the single headed arrow indicates clear water or clear liquid, and the doubleheaded arrows indicate wash water or cleansing fiuid and exhausted brine.

It will also be noted that in the operation of the timing mechanism in each instance, the cam 36, or its equivalent cam, and gearing 31 and 38 which actuate the cam are set with respect to The timing of the softening operation, saltin'g .operation, and washing operation will correspond of course to the size and work required of the bed of zeolites, including as a factor the extent of fineness of the grains of zeolites to insure complete regeneration with each salting operation to give the greatest softening capacity to the bed of zeolites of which 'it is capable, and the exhausted salt solution is thoroughly washed away to insure the delivery of only good, clear softened water through the service pipe, and, accordingly, the mechanism controlling the timing is important and must function with a substantial degree of precision and dependability. The mechanisms above described are capable of thus functioning, and, of course, other equally eflicient timing mechanisms may be used having greater or less requirements for nicety of adjustment of parts according to the demands on the particular water softening plant. A form of timing mechanism somewhat difierent from that above described, but incorporating the same principle and yet afford- :ing a greater opportunity for movement of the moving parts, and thus still further reducing the necessity for nicety of adjustment is shown in Figures 28 to 31 inclusive of the accompanying drawings in which a stationary support or frame 250 is provided having an inclined-surface 25l over which is adapted to ride a weight 252 having a roller 253 for travelling on the surface 25!. The weight is designed to ride up the inclined surface 25l to its highest point and then drop off onto a lever 254 which corresponds in'its form, function, operations, and connections to either lever 58 of Figure 6 or lever 56a of Figure 23, or may function the same'as the corresponding lever of the structure seen in Figure 9; and after the weight 252 leaves the lever 254 and allows the same to rise it drops onto a lever 255 which cor- 1 responds in its form, function, operations, and connections with lever 51 of Figure 6, or lever 51a of Figure 23, or to the corresponding lever of the structure seen in Figure 9. .Each of levers 254 

